SS-Class Material, Bone Fragment of the Green Barbarian.
The trial on the Fifth Floor had been tough, but with a reward like this, a smile formed on my face naturally.
I’d thought it would be a long time before I’d see an SS-Class Material on the lower floors of the Tower.
To think I’d already managed to obtain one.
At this rate, it’s enough to make me hope for an SSS-Grade Material as a reward on the Tenth Floor.
But setting that aside.
“Everyone, take a break!”
I decided to end today’s climb of the Tower here.
We were tired, and a lot of materials in my Space Pocket had been consumed to make cannons and shells.
From now on, I’d better bring more materials, just in case.
No, I should just come together with the Production Team.
While I’m at it, maybe even the Mining Team as well.
If I do that, all mining and mass equipment production would grind to a halt, but clearing the Tower is more important right now.
“Hooah……”
Lying sprawled on the floor, I gazed up at the empty sky—or rather, at the Tower’s ceiling.
Is that really a ceiling?
The few clouds drifted slowly with the wind, their shadows shifting with the movement of the sun.
It didn’t feel like I was climbing the Tower, but as if I was moving through different places.
Well, from the moment Gates and Monsters appeared in this world, it was pointless to expect common sense anymore.
‘The Tower, huh……..’
The Tower.
At first, I was worried, but it’s actually more climbable than I thought.
Honestly, it was only possible because my assistants did most of the hard work.
The trial on the Fifth Floor was tough, but if I bring both the Production Team and Mining Team?
I doubt there’ll be any issues up to the Ninth Floor.
The Tenth Floor was said to be a Boss Monster-level trial, so that was a concern, but things would work out somehow.
The System messages kept saying the Tower was weakening.
With my level rising smoothly and the number of Combat Team members increasing…
I figured things would work out.
With that thought in mind—
“Let’s go, everyone!”
“Yes, Master.”
Ignoring the staircase that had appeared on the opposite side leading up, we exited the Tower.
There had been plenty of complaints, but in the end, we’d climbed five floors and obtained four S-class Materials and one SS-Class Material.
Granted, two of those S-class Materials had been used to conquer the Fifth Floor.
Not to mention, I’d gained quite a few levels as well.
This was a far better haul than I’d expected.
Leaving the Tower with the confidence of a general returning from victory—
“Ooh!”
“Seo Jun! Truly amazing!”
“I thought you’d clear just one floor! To clear five in a single go!”
As if waiting for me, the two Gatekeepers rushed over and welcomed me with great enthusiasm.
I’d planned to boast of my exploits in the Tower to these two clueless statues as soon as I got out, wanting to watch their eyes widen in surprise.
Yet, for some reason, the two statues already knew everything about my progress in the Tower.
“How did you know?”
“We are Gatekeepers of the Tower, after all!”
“We can at least know how far a climber has gotten.”
“But we’re not like the Managers who watch the climbers’ every move!”
“Managers?”
“They’re the ones who manage the Tower and watch the climbers. You can ignore them. All they do is sit and stare at monitors all day, a bunch of voyeurs.”
“More importantly, tell us! How did you conquer five floors in such a short time!”
“We’re dying to know. Ah, this is just the time for some Fried Chicken….”
The statues subtly hinted at their desire for some seasoned chicken.
Seeing such big guys mention chicken so delicately, it was almost like a child asking, ‘Can we have fried chicken for dinner tonight…?’
Well, I needed to eat too.
“I’ll order some—just wait a moment, please?”
“Ooh! That’s Seo Jun for you! Such generosity!”
“Truly, the climber’s strength comes from a generous heart!”
With a sly grin, I went outside and placed a generous order for delivery.
I made sure to order plenty of chicken before returning.
***
“You passed the First Floor’s trial that easily?”
“Combat 10 and 11 just charged in and blew up the Slimes in an instant! I’m not exaggerating, they literally exploded with Lance Charging.”
“Hahahah! Of course! My own disciples should be nothing less!”
“Your disciples? Weren’t you the one who taught them Lance Charging?”
“I’m the one who taught them the basics of horseback stance!”
“They had perfect horseback form from the start, so what’s there to teach?”
“Come now, no fighting. Here, this is a new flavor of chicken—aren’t you going to try it?”
“Ooh, what is this one now?”
After the delivery, I gathered my assistants and returned with both hands full of chicken.
There was pizza and jokbal too, but the statues’ hands kept reaching for the chicken.
It seemed nothing else suited their taste.
Still, for them to eat more than ten chickens each and not get tired of it…
Well, given their size, maybe that wasn’t so much after all.
“What about the Second Floor? If you went in unprepared, it could’ve caught you off guard!”
“Yeah, I was a bit startled since the lights wouldn’t turn on. But I’d brought some mining torches, so I just took those out and it was fine.”
“Haha! Torches! Such a simple solution! So many others have fallen there for not thinking of that!”
I kept on boasting about my exploits.
Honestly, I couldn’t brag about these things to anyone else, not even Nam Bora in the real world.
Being able to share them even with these statues made me happier than I expected.
But—
Just in case, I asked, “Huh? You already knew?”
The statues’ reactions were odd, as if they already knew the content of the trials.
“Of course! We are Gatekeepers of the Tower. Seo Jun, we even know the tales of all those who cleared the Tower before you!”
So of course they knew.
Flustered, I jumped to my feet and shouted, “Then why didn’t you tell me!”
If they’d warned me, I wouldn’t have been surprised by the darkness on the Second Floor—I would’ve pulled out my torch right away.
I wouldn’t have panicked at the Kobolds’ Berserk State on the Third Floor and could’ve calmly defended myself.
And most of all, the Fifth Floor.
If the statues had told me in advance, I wouldn’t have lost my cool seeing the hundreds of charging Orcs.
I would’ve gathered the whole Production Team and set up a proper defense.
I shouted from the unfairness of it all.
“P-please calm down.”
“It’s not that we wanted to hide it from you.”
“Then what is it?”
“It’s the restriction of the Gatekeepers.”
“Gatekeeper’s restriction?”
“We’re forbidden from telling climbers about the trials.”
“Seo Jun, it’s not just you. Don’t you think we want to tell you? We’d have written up all the strategies we’ve learned from others if we could.”
“What happens if you mention any information?”
“We just can’t. It’s a taboo. Our mouths just won’t open.”
“If we tried, our dignity would collapse instantly. As if it wasn’t as shaky enough as it is…”
“If we really forced it… we’d probably just fall apart right there.”
It didn’t seem like they were lying.
Thinking about how I’d stood up and yelled at them made me feel embarrassed.
“We’re sorry. We should’ve at least explained the restrictions in advance.”
“No, I didn’t know either. There’s nothing more you can tell me, right?”
“We’ve told you everything we can! Or did we? Getting old, my memory isn’t what it was…”
“Well, since it’s come to this, ask anything! We’ll tell you everything that’s not restricted!”
“Ooh.”
An unexpected information exchange time began.
But there wasn’t much to gain.
I couldn’t ask about the trials, and the statues didn’t know things like when the Tower would appear.
So, this precious time of information sharing ended up being—
“Ah, the first climber! Truly incredible! When nothing about the Tower was known, he boldly entered and ascended to the Twelfth Floor in one go!”
“Ooh, you’re allowed to talk about that?”
“That much is fine. To tell you something that just barely skirts the restriction, the highest anyone’s ever gotten in the Tower is the Eighty-ninth Floor.”
“So they couldn’t clear the Ninetieth, huh.”
“That’s right. So we don’t know what’s on the Ninetieth Floor either.”
“Hmm….”
“Haha, Seo Jun! No need to worry. You’ll do just fine!”
“Ah, and as for your assistants, we’ll make sure to give them extra training! With tactics suited for the Tower!”
“We can’t tell you about the trials, but we can at least do this! We’ll support you as much as we can, as long as it’s not restricted! So don’t worry, Seo Jun, just keep climbing!”
The two statues laughed more brightly than ever before, delighted that I’d reached the Fifth Floor.
In honor of clearing the Tower, I decided to spend some time with them today.
“Haaaam.”
After eating and drinking my fill with the two statues, I went home for a well-deserved rest.
***
Lying on the bed I’d made myself, all my fatigue vanished.
Honestly, it made me think I could make more money selling these beds than weapons or armor.
No, I shouldn’t just think about it—I ought to have the Production Team try making some soon.
If word got out about S-class or higher beds, even Hunters, hospitals, and ordinary people would snap them up in a frenzy.
“Let’s check my messages first.”
While I was preparing for the Tower climb, I’d ignored almost all messages.
I’d asked Nam Bora to only leave me messages if it was really important, unless it was something truly urgent that couldn’t be ignored.
Thankfully, since I didn’t get a System Call during that time, nothing serious must have happened.
First, I checked my accumulated messages.
– The 1–5 Teams and 6–10 Teams each succeeded in clearing Rank 8 Gates.
Everyone cleared them at a pretty relaxed pace, so I’m thinking of splitting the teams up even further soon.
The first was news about the Vulcanus Guild.
News like this was always welcome.
Hearing that the guild members I’d personally trained and equipped were growing well was always a pleasure.
Next was news from Park Kang-chul.
– Team 0’s leader is currently dispatched to Hunter Pharmacy, saying there aren’t enough Gates in Korea.
– He’s clearing every Gate he comes across, and as a result, we’re getting a good bit of dispatch fees.
Apparently, he couldn’t stand waiting for Gates in Korea and started operating overseas.
In Korea, Gates were in short supply, but there were still many countries struggling to deal with them around the world.
If you picked countries friendly to Korea, you could earn dispatch fees and get treated well while clearing Gates to your heart’s content.
– If Vulcanus permits, I’d like to send other teams overseas as well.
– Recently, Hunters have become so powerful that there are more Hunters than Gates in Korea, and Gates are getting scarcer.
“Hmm.”
The next message wasn’t to my liking.
Park Kang-chul was one thing, but sending other teams overseas too?
We never know when the Tower might appear.
I felt bad for my guild members, but I couldn’t send too many abroad.
If the Tower ever appeared, we’d need the strength of our Vulcanus Guild members first and foremost to stop the Monsters pouring out of the Tower.
As I kept reading through the messages—
“Oh, they already pulled it off?”
I found a message containing just the news I’d been waiting for.